Freecs Twins
by Kalsypher
Summary: Upon learning about my twin brother, I knew I just had to find him. With the Hunter Exam coming, I knew I would soon be on my way to finding him. Maybe he was trying to become a Hunter too. With his name probably not being the same as mine, I really wouldn't know. All I know is that his name is Gon, and I want to find him.
1. Chapter 1

I sighed as I finished tying back my blond hair. It had such an unreasonable coarseness to it. Mother's hair was soft, but it was also blonde. Mine was naturally black, and my bangs were blue. It was something that signified being 10, the beginning years of becoming an adult. Dying hair was an acknowledgment of maturity. Having hair any other color than blonde would force a person completely out of the village.

But I was finally 12. Maturity on Fox Cove was 12, the same age as when the founder of the village I grew up in, Hope Higherland had decided she was taking the Hunter's Exam. There was nothing more honorable than taking the Hunter Exam. It was more or less frowned upon should a child in Fox Cove not take it.

I was not taking the Hunter Exam for a title or any form of honor. I was on a mission. That mission was to find my twin brother and my father. My mother had never mentioned them until my 12th birthday. For the first time, I felt complete knowing that there was another half of me in the world. I had purpose other than pride.

"So, you did find your way."

My eyes left the small crowd around me and went to the tall man with scarlet hair and weird marks on his face, a light blue drop under his left eye, a pink star under his right. I had met him on a train on the way in and we took two separate directions.

I smiled some, "Yes, I'm glad you made it as well."

He had the scariest look in his yellow eyes, but there was a genuine smile on his face. "Good luck."

"You too!" I waved as he walked off giving a careless wave in return.

I shivered involuntarily. I wasn't sure what he was supposed to be. His clothing was strange, three pink rings which I could only suspect to be some sort of turtleneck were around his neck, but he had the same thing on his arms giving the short sleeved shirt more of a poofy shoulder look. The three rings expanded to six rings which covered his torso to his white pants. He had the same style of grouped three rings on his wrists, like wrist cuffs. As if the rings weren't weird enough, the white shirt he wore on top of the ringed cloth was cut in half, where it was barely passing his chest. It had a purple v-neck and a large purple spade and club marks from cards. Wrapped around his waist was a yellow cloth of some kind.

"Hello there!"

I jumped slightly at the sudden closeness of this old man. "Who are you?" I asked as he handed me a drink.

"My name is Tonpa," he introduced. "I see you've met Hisoka."

My brown eyes found the strange man once again, "He seems alright."

"He nearly killed an examiner last year," Tonpa said.

"Really?" I asked as I looked at Tonpa who looked rather terrified. "What happened?"

"W-Why are you so happy about that? You're not scared of him?" Tonpa whispered loudly.

I frowned, "No. Why should I be?"

"He almost killed an examiner!" Tonpa almost yelled.

I blinked, "So? He didn't try to kill me." I smiled, "So, what happened?"

Tonpa stuttered a bit before clearing his throat and raising a can, "A toast to our-"

"I'll ask him myself."

I made my way through the steadily growing crowd until I bumped into someone, then into someone else, then covered my ears when a terrible scream came from right by me. Small flowers started to float away right in front of my eyes, though the man on the ground was screaming and his arms were both gone.

"You should apologize when you bump into someone," Hisoka smirked.

"Hey, Hisoka?" I called as I stepped up to him.

He had a rather annoyed look on his face, but it quickly faded, replaced with a creepy smile. "Yes?"

"Why did you try to kill an examiner last year?" I asked.

Hisoka took the unopened can from my hand and looked it over, "He did something I didn't like."

I watched as Hisoka's gaze left the can and went behind me. I followed his gaze to where Tonpa was frozen in place, shaking under the tall man's gaze.

"Oh, okay," I replied as Hisoka opened the can and poured out the contents. "What did you do to his arms?"

"A magician never reveals his tricks," the strange man said as he closed his hands on the can, crushing it and turning it into butterflies. He placed a pale hand on my head, a genuine smile on his pale lips. "Do be careful when you try to choose your friends."

I frowned, "Friends? You don't make friends at competitions, do you?"

My whole life had been a competition. I only had enemies. We knew how to be socially polite, but when it got down to it, everyone hated everyone on Fox Cove. It was an island of survival, more or less. There was no need for friends when you could rely solely on yourself. It made Fox Cove one of the more dangerous civilized places in the known world. But, a friend was something I did want, maybe one day.

"Oh, look who made it," a mocking voice called from behind me.

I turned to face Hito, one of the boys from Sunland, a village north of Higherland. The bright haired boy had spiked his hair with green tips. He laughed as he walked up to me, flicking my nose. "Where's your earring? Or does Higherland not have any worthy adults?"

"No, we don't waste time on such stupid things." I turned my back to him, pushing the sleeve of my tank top over. "We get brands." The brand was the symbol of whatever "spirit animal" the elders claimed we had. Though it was reluctant on their part, my spirit animal was a fox, one of the proud creatures held to the highest honor.

His grey eyes glared like a mirror in the sun, "Think you're so tough?"

A bizarre alarm went off before Hito started a fight with me, which he would more than likely lose. Of the children of Higherland, I was the only one to make it to the Exam. I was almost certain somewhere in the large crowd, more people from Fox Cove had arrived, but if it was just Hito, that would be okay. A representative from each village was supposed to show up. After an all out battle Royale, the winner would be the representative of that village. I fought over 300 children age and older and won.

I followed the group as they started at a walk, which turned into a jog, turning into a run. It was strange that we had to run. Was every Hunter Exam like this? It seemed too easy.

The running continued. It soon felt as though that was all I knew. Though I had kept a steady pace, people around me were slowing down, losing their energy quicker than they thought.

"Another one?" I heard someone mumble.

I looked over my shoulder to see a blonde guy looking at me with a very curious gaze. I slowed my pace until I was running by him, "Another one?"

He gave an embarrassed smile, "It's just hard for me to believe there are four children here."

"Four?" I asked in shock. "Then the others didn't make it."

"They?" The blond questioned.

"Taking the Hunter Exam is a rite of passage to become an adult," I explained. "There were supposed to be at least 15 more."

"Taking the Hunter Exam is a rite of passage? Don't they know people die in this Exam?" He questioned, concern and curiosity in his eyes.

"We see it as only the strong can survive," I explained.

"Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking."

"Fox Cove," I told him with a toothy smile.

His concern seemed to grow, but it began to disappear. "Then you are an adult now. What do you think happened to the others?"

"They probably didn't leave the island. The trials getting here were easier than I expected."

His grey eyes lingered on me a bit longer, studying and judging me carefully. I offered a smile before looking away and keeping the pace.

"Making friends, are we?" Hito mocked as he ran next to me.

"Friends are a crutch for the weak," I told him. "Or were you not taught that in Sunland?"

"It's the way we live," he bragged. "Whatever pisses us off, we kill."

I easily jumped over Hito's poor attempt to trip me. After picking up my pace, I noticed I could see the examiner. I couldn't help but wonder if he was some elder from Fox Cove since his hair was lavender. It was unlikely because Fox Cove was too warm a place to wear a suit as nice as he was wearing. Tank tops and shorts were what we wore on the tropical island. I was dressed in pink shorts and a grey tank top. Traditionally, my people didn't wear shoes, but they were required for the Hunter Exam.

After a few hours of running, I began to grow bored, and my feet were starting to hurt. Soon, I found myself near the back of the group. With an aggravated groan, I stopped running and pulled my shoes off, tossing them away and running to get back in the group. Somehow, I ended up by the blond boy again. He had removed the strange blue and red drape he had been wearing and was running in a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants. Running next to him was an older guy with small sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. He was running shirtless, but there was a tie around his neck.

"Is your friend okay?" I asked the blond boy.

"Hm?" He blinked, his attention turning to me. "Oh, yes. Leorio is fine."

I looked at the struggling to breathe man skeptically before looking back at the blonde boy who was studying me once again.

"The boy with green hair, why did he try to trip you?" He asked.

I shrugged, "People from Sunland aren't as people-friendly as people from Higherland."

"These are villages in Fox Cove?" He questioned.

"Yep!"

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Costa," I replied. "What's yours?"

"Kurapika."

We ran in silence until the road turned into stairs nearly going straight up rather than a steady incline.

"Costa, where are your shoes?" Kurapika asked.

"I don't like wearing them," I replied. "We don't normally wear them in Higherland, but they said we should during the Hunter Exam. They made my feet hurt, so I got rid of them."

An amused smile formed on his lips, but he said nothing. Soon, the stairway ended and we stopped in front of a terrible smelling area. I covered my nose with my arm as I looked around. Were we at a swamp? I regretted leaving my shoes almost instantly.

A loud ruckus caught my attention so I pushed my way through the crowd just in time for a card to slice my face, hitting the guy right next to me. A large monkey-like creature fell dead, his face looking just like the examiner.

The lavender haired examiner looked less than amused as Hisoka shuffled the cards in his hands.

"Try something like that again, and I will disqualify you from the Hunter Exam," the lavender haired man warned.

Hisoka shrugged carelessly, the cards in his hand disappearing in a poof of smoke. His yellow eyes moved down to me, annoyance clear on his features, so he looked away. I wiped the blood from my cheek and stared at the stain on my hands with a frown.

"Are you alright?" Kurapika asked me, his voice barely a whisper and filled with a gentleness I didn't know existed.

"I've had worse," I replied with a smile. "Thank you for caring."

Soon, we began running again through the disgusting bog. With every step, the disgusting squish filled my ears making me shudder and the wetness between my toes, grime filling in and covering my feet made me sick. A fog began covering everyone around to the point where I had to stop running because I was completely alone. I knew better than to call out, but I had no idea how long I would be lost in this cursed fog.

I continued toward the straight direction, the direction I hoped the examiner had taken. While I picked up my pace to a run, I felt a chill cover me. The fog was holding tight to my skin almost like a second layer of heavy clothing, but freezing me instead of warming me. I skidded to a stop, tripping over a branch and landing in the swampy grass when I heard screams just a few feet in front of me. Taking careful steps, I found the edge of a ditch which led to a hole of spikes where many contestants had fallen. I walked around the ditch, heading straight once more, hoping to find the way back to the main path. A small dose of fear took over at the sight of a giant turtle like creature with strawberries on its back. It seemed unaware of my presence as it chewed on the corpse of a fellow contestant. I could only assume following the bodies would be the path to follow.

It appeared to be the correct course as I ran past bodies covered in mushrooms, or people unconsciously drowning themselves in the swampy land. There was nothing I could do for them, so I continued on. Something slamming into the back of my head knocked me to the ground. I growled as I turned and found the tree staring angrily at me.

How was I supposed to fight a tree?!

I scrambled to my feet and took off running as fast as I could, hoping the roots of all the trees around me wouldn't grab me or the branches knock me over. Afte stumbling quite a few times, my ankle got trapped in between two roots that began to squeeze it tightly. I took a deep breath, calming myself before I broke my ankle. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small knife' stabbing it as hard as I could into the root of the tree. The root broke allowing me to run again only to find the forest had shifted around me and the path I had been following was gone. I ran to a nearby tree and began climbing. I realized it was forcing itself to grow just to make sure I didn't would lose. Finally, it lost its ability to grow, and I was able to see the group in the distance. Theyhad come to a stop just in front of a brick wall.

I jumped out of the trees and continued running through the forest straight toward the wall. I lost my balance when the ground shook under my feet. I regretted pausing as I looked over my shoulder to see a giant tiger-lion hybrid that was growling down at me. It swung its giant paw at me, and I managed to jump over it and continued running toward the wall as fast as I could. Between that stupid tiger thing and the trees trying to kill me, I wasn't sure I would make it to the wall at all.

I glanced over my shoulder when I heard the beast stop, but I was met with a surprise thud as I slammed into the wall. The creature made one last attempt to get me, but I jumped up, slamming the small knife into its eye and running toward the voices, leaving my knife behind. I could survive without it.

Now that I was covered in swamp nasty, twigs, leaves, fur, and blood, I knew I was more than approachable now. If life didn't depend on trees, I would never touch one again. I followed the wall, moving to the sound of voices. Just as the midday sun broke the thick fog, I found the group. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I leaned against the wall and slid down. I was so tired.

"What happened to you?" A boy asked as he approached me.

I pointed at a tree, "The trees...tried to kill me. And tiger thing."

He stared at the trees for a moment before shrugging. "I heard Kurapika say there were more children my age here. What's your name?"

"Costa," I introduced as I got to my feet.

"I'm Killua," he said as his bright blue eyes moved to the path that led into the swamp. "Where are they?"

"Who?" I asked.

"Gon and Hito," he replied. "They should be he by now."

This boy felt dangerous. He felt like any other person in Higherland, fearless and dark souled. Yet, his winter blue eyes longed for redemption. They longed to be something else, something he wasn't sure he would ever reach. I envied him at the moment, wearing a navy long sleeve turtle-neck shirt under the white v-neck tshirt. Though his top didn't match the fact he was wearing shorts or high-topped shoes, I still envied him. He was probably warm while I was used to steaming heat from the tropics.

I took notice of his skateboard, yellow with a red arrow reaching from top to bottom. "Are you good at skateboarding?"

The question fell on deaf ears as he yelled for Gon and Hito's attention. My eyes followed his where I found running with Hito, Kurapika and a boy with bright eyes and a happy smile. He had black hair that spiked up high and rich brown eyes that were filled to the brim with innocence and excitement. I envied him as well since he had a green jacket. Like Killua, he was wearing shorts, only they were green and he had boots that reached his knees.

I watched the group gather around an unconscious man against a tree. Wonder what happened. Soon, Kurapika's grey eyes found me and horror covered his face, though he tried to use it to hide his smile. I stuck my tongue out at him which made him laugh.

I rolled my eyes as I crossed my hands over my chest, my attention turning to the examiner who had just announced his leave. As the man walked, I noticed why it was so hard to keep up with him. He took long, precise strides that didn't change pattern, though he moved faster. Weird. But finally, we were at the second challenge, and I couldn't wait for it to start.


	2. Chapter 2

The giant doors of the wall I had met on a personal level began to open revealing what awaited us. A large fancy mansion awaited with the courtyard filled to the brink with ovens, roasting spits, and stove tops. As I stepped in, I couldn't help but wonder what any of this meant. Cooking? Why were we cooking? That seemed unfair.

Sitting in front of the white mansion was a large man, his small eyes closed and short messy brown hair seemed stuck to his head. I hated him the same way I envied Killua and that Gon boy with their long sleeves, though his shirt was yellow and far too small for him, showing his massive stomach. He wore dark green pants and looked absolutely miserable.

In front of him sat a woman who very well could have been from Fox Cove, and a highly respected person at that. Her hair was a bright turquoise with five ribbons tying her hair into a strange star-like spikes. Over her black bra was a see-through mesh shirt that touched just past her bra, and she wore denim shorts that barely covered her butt. The only thing that took away my respect for her was the tall heels she was wearing, despite the fact they went up her leg and tied with pink bows. Such monstrosities like that would ruin anyone's respect in Higherland.

Everyone seemed discouraged by the fact they had to cook. I hated the fact it had to be pork. I hated pork. I didn't like meat in general, but pork was just the worst in my mind. I turned to leave, but the female judge, Menchi stopped me.

"Unless you clean up, I will not accept any food you bring." She told me.

Without clean clothes, I would just have to wash off in the nearby river. I muttered curses as I took off my shirt, trying to scrub out the grime from the swamp. By the time I had returned to the place to cook, everyone was standing in silence.

"What happened?" I asked the old man next to me.

"She failed us all," he muttered in disbelief.

"Oh," I muttered as I looked around at all the dumbfounded contestants. I hadn't even had the chance to try, but it was over anyway.

"That being said, it would be very excessive to fail every single applicant," a voice from the sky announced.

Everybody's attention turned to the airship with the Hunter emblem on the side. Something like a comet hit the ground. I pushed by everyone to see what had happened, and I wasn't disappointed. As the dust began to settle, I could see the figure of an old man standing there. He was bald, save the white ponytail in the middle of his head. His eyebrows were long, long enough to touch his cheeks, and his mustache and beard were white as well, but his outfit was the most interesting part. The billowy shirt and pants would have appeared to be a kimono, except there were pants. He also wore wooden shoes with a massive wooden plank to be the bottom, when traditionally, there were two planks that were much smaller.

"Chairman Netero," the woman greeted.

A brief conversation began between the two, the woman clearly looking guilty of her actions. I couldn't help but frown on her decision as well.

"Where were you?" Kurapika asked as we boarded the airship.

"The lady said I was going to be disqualified if I wasn't clean," I told him as I looked at my still very muddy shirt and shorts.

He gave a small smile as he pulled a small thing of swamp moss from my hair, "What happened to you?"

"The trees attacked me," I replied with a frown as I stared down at the nasty forest.

"The trees?" He asked, a small chuckle escaping his lips with the question.

"Yes," I grumbled. "I hate them."

"Costa!"

Kurapika and I turned to see Gon, Killua, and Hito coming toward us. I sneered at Hito who merely smirked in return.

"What happened to friends being a crutch?" Hito asked.

"Everyone has a weakness," I said evenly. "I suppose you still haven't told them they're just pawns to get you through the Hunter Exam. Or can you tolerate them that long?"

My eyes left Hito to find Gon looking between the two of us, trying to figure out what was happening. "You're Gon?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he smiled as he put out his hand.

I grinned as I shook it, "Costa."

"She doesn't seem so bad," Killua commented as he folded his arms behind his head.

"No one from Fox Cove does," I replied coldly, my eyes on Hito. I looked back at the two innocents in front of me. "Good luck on this next part, whatever it is."

As I walked away, I barely heard one of them say something about me being cute. I shoved my hands in my pockets, a blush on my cheeks. Being called cute was more or less an insult in Higherland. Women were appreciated for their strength and abilities to be able to take up a man's job should the time come. Looks had no part at all in a woman's life in Higherland, though the word cute was a compliment in the lower regions of Fox Cove.

It didn't take me long before I found Kurapika and his friend.

"She is a little girl," his friend said as he looked at me. "I'm Leorio."

"Costa," I replied with a smile.

"You nicer than that other boy," Leorio commented lowly.

"Hito made a poor first impression on Leorio," Kurapika explained. "When we were chasing the pigs, Hito led his pig to Leorio."

"He's from Sunland," I told him. "They aren't taught how to be civil."

"I don't know much about Fox Cove, only that bad things come from there," Kurapika said warily.

"That's almost true," I replied. "Some that leave become worse than they were before."

"And you?" Leorio asked seriously. "Can we trust you?"

"That depends on you, Leorio," I replied. "If you ask me for help, I will do my best to assist you. That's a little different than trust."

The two looked at each other before looking back at me. "Why not hang out with the children your age? I'm sure Gon would enjoy having another friend." Kurapika suggested.

I thought over the situation. I didn't like Hito, but Gon and Killua seemed nice enough. Hito would betray them eventually, and they would need someone that could fight him.

I smiled, "Yeah."

I found the group of boys just as the air ship landed. We were on a mountain that had been cut exactly in half. We followed Menchi to the giant trench and watched as she jumped over the edge, falling into darkness. A strong air current came from the bottom bringing Menchi back to the top where she held a giant egg.

"That looks fun," Killua commented.

"Then lets go," I said as I jumped into the pit.

Waiting in the darkness was a large spiderweb like thing. Spider eagle eggs. A few people dropped to their death while the rest of us waited for the sign of an updraft to show. Gon announced when to fall, and everyone dropped at the same time. Just as I grabbed my egg, Hito kicked it from my hands. I glared at him, slamming my foot into his egg, shattering it all over him. On the way up, I managed to grab another egg, as did Hito, meaning our competition would continue.

All of us dropped our eggs into a giant black cauldron and waited for them to be done.

"You look disgusting, Hito," Killua laughed.

He glared at me while I started peeling the shell off my egg, "I'm not going down without a fight, Hito. I can guarantee that."

"At least I don't have to pretend to be blond. Someone isn't a true native of Fox Cove," he mocked.

"And yet somehow, I'm better than you," I spat and started eating my egg.

Gon approached me while Hito and Killua were talking about whatever. "Is it true what you said about Hito? He's just using us?"

"Yes," I replied, watching the slight sparkle in his brown eyes fade. "You have Killua. He seems like he's a great friend."

"He is." Gon said with a large smile. "And what about you? Are you just using us?"

"No," I replied while shaking my head. "Like he said, I'm not completely from Fox Cove. My father was from somewhere else. My mother never said, though I really think she didn't even know. I'm more prone to making friends. On Fox Cove it's a sign of weakness and is something that you will be severely punished for. Hito is not your friend. He is only waiting for the moment when he won't need you anymore."

Gon stared at me for a moment, just watching me. "Then...will you be my friend?"

I was speechless for a moment. No one had outright asked me that. "Y-yes."

A smile formed on his face as he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the others. Kurapika and Leorio had joined the small group as well.

"Costa has decided to be our friend!"

Hito laughed, "So, you finally caved!"

"I'm tired of your crap, Hito," I told him. "So help me if I don't kill you on this air ship, I will kill you at some point."

He laughed again, "Yeah right. All it takes is one of them to tell you don't do it and you won't."

"Don't do it," Killua said. Hito smirked as I took a step back. "Not yet, anyway."

When we got on the air ship, the old man, Netero called us to a meeting. "Allow me to introduce myself to the forty-two remaining applicants. I am Netero, Chairman of this year's Hunter Exam Selection Committee."

"And I am his secretary, Beans," a very small, green-headed man in a nice suit announced.

"Originally, I had planned to make my appearance during the exam's final stage, but as I am already here." The old man smirked, "I am loving this tension in the air!" Killua yawned as the man continued talking, "So I think I'll stick around for the rest of the trip." He laughed as if he had told a joke.

"We are scheduled to arrive at our destination tomorrow morning, 8 AM," Bean informed us. "You'll find dinner waiting in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest. In other words, you are free to do as you please until you are contacted."

I noticed a clock on the left wall. 9:05. Just under 11 hours to eat and rest. I stretched some, and sighed. I needed to wash my clothes, but there was no sense in asking about clothing. I yawned again as I walked out behind everyone else, just wanting to get something to eat and sleep for a while.

"Hey Costa! We're going to explore the ship!" Gon yelled as he headed down the hall.

"How about food first then exploring later? I don't know when the last time you ate was, but it's been about four days for me, besides the egg."

"Four days?!" Gon exclaimed as he ran up to me. "Why?"

"To rule out the weak," I replied. "Fox Cove is far from any normal place."

"I haven't eaten in two weeks," Hito bragged. "Just shows how weak you are. I didn't eat my egg."

I slammed my fist into his stomach sending him down the hall. He coughed, spitting out some sort of disgusting chunk. "Stupid, I saw you. And you probably ate on the stupid elevator ride on the way down. I didn't have that luck because the guys in the elevator with me stole my food."

I headed to the dining hall, but paused when I heard Kurapika and Leorio behind me.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Leorio asked Kurapika.

"I don't know," Kurapika replied. He stopped walking when he saw me, "You didn't go with Gon and Killua?"

"I need food," I replied with a small smile. "What were you talking about?"

"Tonpa said the third phase could be on the ship," Leorio replied.

"No, it can't," I told him with a frown.

"What do you mean?" Kurapika asked.

"It's like the chairman said, we weren't supposed to see him until the final phase. I don't know much about this Exam, but with how competitive it is and the amount of fighters, the forty-two people on here would end up taking the ship down if anything happened. And we'll be arriving at our destination at 8 in the morning. We're safe on the ship."

The two smiled. "In that case, I think I will find somewhere to sleep." Leorio commented.

"Don't forget, I'm a veteran," Tonpa said as he walked up. "I know these things better than you, kid."

His words had clearly concerned Kurapika and Leorio. I grabbed him by the shirt and threw him at the wall, creating a crater shaped like his body. He fell out of it, landing on his hands and knees at my feet. A rather loud whimper escaped his lips as he stared up at me. "If you continue to play these mind games with them, you will be my target in the next phase, no matter what it involves." I warned. "Leave them alone."

"Y-yes, ma'am," he whimpered and bowed at my feet.

"Scum like you don't deserve to live," I spat and walked away, not looking at Kurapika or Leorio as I headed on.

When I finally found the dining hall, a lot of the food was missing, thanks to Hanzo who was openly bragging about his ninja life. I managed to find a few sandwiches, some chicken, and a burger as well as some water to keep my hunger at bay until another chance of eating came around.

"I'm sure you know as a girl your size, you don't need that much food."

The loud dining room went silent when the man screamed. The end of a fork was sticking out of the back of his hand, the prongs keeping it nailed to the table. I kept my hand on the end, making sure the now terrified man focused on me. "You touch my food again, and I will put a spoon through your throat and carve out your voice box. Don't bother me again."

I released the fork and grabbed my plates, leaving the man there, struggling against the fork, trying to get it out of the table. As I finished my seventh glass of water and the rest of my food, I went looking for Gon and Killua. I stopped in front of a door where I heard Gon's voice and opened it, just in time to get slammed into by Killua.

"Oh, hey Costa," he greeted with a smile. "Do you want to play?"

I followed Killua into the room, closing the door behind me. Netero stood there in a black tank top and white pants, a ball in his hand. "So, you want to play as well?"

"What are we playing?" I asked.

"If you get the ball from him, he'll make you a Hunter," Gon said.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Netero asked.

"Okay," I replied as I stretched my arms.

I jumped at him only for him to dodge, but I was right at his ankles as he continued to move the ball around me, trying to keep it away. I growled as he managed to twist me up, but with a quick placement of my foot on his, I managed to launch myself up, nearly hitting him in the face, but managing to get the ball out of his hand. Just as I reached for it, my body began to shut down. I had never felt this feeling before, but I was on the border of losing absolute control of myself. The presence lasted a second too long as my feet touched the ground, but I jumped back at Netero, clawing for his throat and eyes. His once amused expression had quickly faded to shock before turning dark.

He slammed his hand into my arm, possibly breaking it, but I kept fighting. I continued to attack, throwing punches and kicks, every once in a while actually, possibly, causing some harm when the shock showed. With a final punch, I was thrown across the room into the wall, where I fell to my knees and finally to the ground. Everything quickly went dark.

"Costa?"

The gentle voice was so very far away, like a distant memory.

"Her pulse is fine," a rougher, but concerned voice stated. "Costa, can you hear me?"

I could hear the groan I was pretty sure I made, but it was hard to tell. It hurt to even think, much less move. I couldn't remember how I got in the shape I was in, or why I was so tired. Something touched my forehead. The coolness woke me up a little more, slowly making the noises around more clear, more current. Finally, I managed to open my eyes.

Leorio was the first face I saw, concern hidden behind a very serious, attentive expression. He almost looked like a doctor. He smiled, "Hey there."

"Costa," Kurapika breathed in relief. "Do you remember what happened?"

"What?" I whispered hoarsely. "What happened?"

"You don't remember," Leorio muttered.

"Now that we know she is okay, we can let her rest," Kurapika said. "Why don't you come with us? We've found a good place to sleep."

I didn't argue as Leorio picked me up, taking me wherever they were going.

I woke up feeling stiff. My right arm stung when I moved it, and it had a bandage. As I looked around, I realized I was in a dark room, sleeping between Kurapika and Leorio, who had some how fallen asleep sitting up. I slowly got up, making sure to not disturb them and left the room. I hissed at the bright light that greeted me, which made someone laugh.

I looked down the hall to see Killua walking toward me, his shirts tossed over one shoulder and his hand covered in blood. "I was wondering what Leorio and Kurapika did with you. When you passed out, Netero called that Beans guy and he took you to Leorio and Kurapika. Why did you try to kill the old man?"

"I have no idea," I replied with a frown. "I was fine, then I wasn't. What happened to your hand?"

He looked at his blood covered hand then clenched his fist. "I killed two other applicants."

"Oh, okay," I replied with a shrug as we started walking down the hall. "You should probably wash it off."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?"

"When I turned 12, my mother told me I had a brother. I'm looking for him. Why are you taking it?"

"It sounded fun," Killua replied with a shrug.

I waited outside the bathroom as he went in to wash his hands. With a yawn, I sat down on the ground, too tired to keep standing. I just wanted to go back to sleep now that I was awake.

Killua finally walked out of the bathroom. He had washed his face and put his shirts back on. "Gon and I found this awesome room."

"Can we sleep there?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes.

"Yeah, that should be where Hito is," he replied as he helped me to my feet.

I didn't care if Hito was there. I was far too tired and if he bothered me, I would kill him on the spot.

"When I told you I killed those guys, you didn't seem to care," Killua said.

"You didn't try to kill me," I replied. "Some people have to die. It sucks, but it happens. And I've killed far too many people at leisure for me to be able to think badly of you."

"You've killed?" He asked. "Hito said you weren't able to do that."

"I've killed about 30 people. Some older, some younger. When they're younger, I try to keep it as painless as possible." I explained.

"I come from a family of assassins," Killua said as he put his hand on a doorknob.

"Assassins? That's interesting," I replied. "Wait, you're a Zoldyck?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Do not tell Hito," I said as he opened the door. "Everyone in Sunland hates the Zoldyck family. No idea why."

Killua was not joking when he said he found an awesome room. There were couches and blankets and pillows. I went to the couch farthest from the door and got situated.

"Goodnight, Killua," I said.

"Night," he mumbled, already half asleep.

I yawned and curled up as I drifted off to sleep once more.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to Killua tapping me on the shoulder. "We're here."

I got up and stretched as I followed him out of the room. My body was exhausted to the point where I was just forcing myself to move. When we got off the airship, I had no idea where we were. The large tower we stood on made the ground seem so far away. Just what was this place?

Mr. Beans cleared his throat, "Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower."

"Trick Tower?" An applicant muttered.

The name made my skin crawl. I had heard it before, long ago as a rumor and a horror story to children to motivate them to become stronger so they wouldn't get caught.

"To pass this phase, you must reach the tower's base alive," Mr. Beans continued. "The time limit is 72 hours. With that, we will now begin the third phase."

I took three steps toward the edge and the floor gave way to my feet. I stopped and stared into the pitch black darkness around me. Suddenly a torch lit itself up. "Welcome to the Path of Darkness. You have been given a torch that will last two hours. On this path, you must choose which way to go. Some will have torches every three miles, some have them every twelve, some have none at all."

"Did your instructions go against my time?" I asked.

"When you pick them up, your time will begin."

"And I have to light the torches," I muttered as I walked to the wall. I carefully reached for it and pulled it off the wall.

Two new pathways opened, so I followed the straight one. I had two hours to find another torch before I would be stuck in the darkness forever and just have to feel my way down and hope to not die.

I kept a steady pace as I turned left and right, trying to find my next torch. I saw the next torch just as the one in my hand went out. However, the torch was also in a large room.

I walked to the wall and kept my hands on the cold stone as I moved toward the torch. Just as I touched it, the fire came to life and three men were standing in the room wearing ragged brown clothing. The shackles on their hands confused me. Prisoners?

A man with spiky brown hair groaned, "And I thought we would have a challenge!"

Another man with black laughed, "She's so young! It's cruel that they allow children to sign up for their deaths."

I watched the shackles fall to the floor. "Now, there are three of us and three torches in this room. If you beat all of us, a fourth will appear and it will last 24 hours. But, I doubt you'll last that long." The one with the brown hair explained.

The last appeared to be an old man, shriveled and frail. His old eyes were studying me. "Where are you from, girl?"

"Higherland," I replied vaguely. "What do I have to beat you in? Fighting? Chess?"

They laughed, "You'll be fighting us. One on one, unless you'd rather take us all at once and end your life quicker."

"No, I want to enjoy her," the old man said. "I'll go last."

"One on one then," I muttered with a sneer. "I would rather kill all you together, but if it's one by one, that's fine."

The brown haired man laughed as he walked up to me, "Nice try, kid. You're not as scary as you think you are."

He jumped at me which I easily ducked under him, slamming my fist into his stomach with my left hand and grabbing his shirt by my right hand, throwing him across the room into the stone wall. He groaned as he stayed slumped against the wall. "I don't remember. Did we say to the death?"

"No," the man coughed as he got up. A flash of gold caught my attention. I raised my hand to block the knife, the blade going through my hand and stopping. I laughed as I pulled it out. "Big mistake, my friend. Now, you die."

I raised my right arm taking another knife while throwing the other knife from my left hand. I pulled the one from my right arm out and threw it toward the old man. It sliced open his head, killing him instantly.

I watched the other man as I pulled the knife from the throat of the brown haired man. "Admit defeat and I will spare you."

He sneered at me as he pulled a gun from his back. I barely dodged the bullet, the speeding metal causing a deep gash on my cheek and slicing my ear. He, however, did not take the time to dodge the knife. Instead, he shot the knife, shattering the blade. A wooden stake pierced his chest.

I was so tired. The wall opened revealing the longer lasting torch.

I grabbed one of the torches from the wall and burned all mu wounds shut and pulled the knives from the victims before cutting the clothes of the dead men to wrap my wounds. I finally grabbed the long lasting torch and headed down the hall of darkness, ready to take on whatever comes next.

"Hey, examiner?" I called out. There was no response, so I continued speaking anyway. "If I run into more people, can I put this torch on one of the things to stop the time?"

Suddenly the floor gave way under my feet. I stumbled a bit as I tried to stay standing. Now where was I?

I lifted the torch to see around me. Stairs. Hundreds of different stair cases leading up and down, some turning upside down, some just stopping with no destination, yet no pathway to choose. There were no doors. Something littered in the corner of my eye. It was a reflection of the fire.

I sighed as I stared at it. I took a couple of steps back before throwing a knife into the mirror. A pathway of definite stairs going down revealed itself and I followed it. I soon found myself falling once again, only this time, I landed on top of someone.

I flinched at the blinding light as I looked around. There stood Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. Under me was Tonpa.

"What are you doing here?" Kurapika asked.

There was an echo on the other side of the arena as well. Someone had fallen in over there.

"You're just in time for Leorio's match," Kurapika said.

I frowned at the blond haired teen, "You don't look so great."

"Like you have any room to talk," Killua muttered.

"Hey, it was a rough fight, okay? They had weapons and I didn't." I stuck out my tongue.

"Did you bandage yourself?" Kurapika asked.

"I burned all my wounds shut and wrapped them up in their clothing," I replied. "And I took their knives. What about you? How did all of you get here?"

"We are on the path of Majority Rule," Kurapika explained. "And you?"

"Path of Darkness," I replied as I looked at the torch that was thankfully still burning. "I have no idea how much time I have left on that torch."

Kurapika checked his watch. "There are 60 hours left."

I walked to Killua and Gon who were looking at an unconscious guy in the middle of the arena. "Gross, what happened to him?"

"He fought Kurapika," Killua stated. "We think he might be dead."

"Oh, have you checked?" I asked.

"They said he was just unconscious," Gon replied.

"Hey, let me check your wounds while we wait," Leorio said, though there was some annoyance in his voice.

As he bandaged me, I told the group of my adventure. I sighed as I looked at the unconscious guy, "It seems our paths have crossed at an inconvenient time. I won't be able to pass until your part is finished."

"Is that true?" Leorio asked loudly.

"That is correct," the examiner replied.

I suddenly noticed a change in the area. "You need to hurry up and get this over with before you're fighting in darkness."

When Leorio finished bandaging me, he announced a bet on whether or not the guy was dead. I sighed as I looked at the bandages on my hand and arm. He had complained about how I did everything wrong and it would probably get infected, but I had other things to deal with.

"Have you always been reckless?" Kurapika asked.

"In Higherland, we're taught three different ways of fighting, and focusing on the one we best excel in. Hand-to-hand, short distance weapons, and long distance weapons. Most people that excel in hand-to-hand try to incorporate short distance weapons, but some don't. In hand-to-hand, we're taught how to deal with long range weapons. Protect the vitals with your body. People from Higherland usually don't live to see 30 because of this."

"I see," Kurapika muttered. "Did you choose hand-to-hand or short range weapons?"

"Hand-to-hand. They don't teach that method in any other area. If anyone knows you're learning short distance, they won't teach you everything. It's easier to learn short distance weapons and how to block with them, but you've got to learn how to take a beating."

He frowned at the thought before placing his hand on my head. A gentle smile formed on his lips, "I'm happy you don't have to live that way anymore."

A grin formed on my lips as I nodded, "You're great, Kurapika."

"Hey, don't make it weird," Killua yelled back with a mischievous smirk. "I didn't know you had a crush on Kurapika."

"Why would I want to crush Kurapika?" I asked.

"Not crushing him as in squishing him, but a crush," Killua said as he walked to me. He pulled me to my feet and took me to the edge of the standing place. "See how Leorio is acting?"

His face was all red and he looked incredibly strange, a very creepy smile on his face. "That's a crush?" I asked Killua.

"Not exactly, but something like that," Killua said.

"I don't think I have a crush on Kurapika," I said as Leorio began moving his hands all over the girl's body.

Before I knew it, everything was dark as Kurapika stood behind me, "You don't want to see this. Gon and Killua aren't watching either."

I could feel Kurapika tense up, his hands slightly tighter over my eyes. "Disgusting," he growled under his breath.

Finally, he lowered his hands, gently pulling his fingers through my knotted hair. "There. Hopefully that won't happen again."

I watched as the score board continued to change. Leorio was betting their time in the tower. He should have gone all in. I wasn't much of a gambler, but when it came to life or death, I was always 100% in it to win.

Leorio's loss was a disappointment more than a surprise. When Killua stepped up, Leorio freaked out saying he should have taken his match more seriously. There were more thuds before a man walked out, his hand dragging on the wall then crushing a stone in his hand.

"That's disappointing," I muttered.

"That's the serial killer, Johness the Dissector," Leorio said. "Killua, just give up and we'll try again next year."

"That guy is a serial killer?" I asked. "It's kind of sad."

I heard two more drops from the other side as the light dimmed a bit more. I walked to my torch and picked it up, waiting for the match between Killua and the serial killer to end. In less than two minutes, Killua had ripped the guys heard out and placed it in his hand.

I stepped forward, passing Killua on the way to the center. Placing the torch by my feet, I waited for my fight to start. I dodged an arrow only to get another one in the knee making me fall to the ground. With a terrible tug, I pulled the arrow out and dropped it to the ground. When I got to my feet, a hooded woman was standing in front of me, her bow drawn with a nasty looking arrow.

"I heard you were dangerous, so I had to make sure everything would go my way and I would have the advantage."

"Are you talking about the poison or the arrow?" I asked. "Because where I'm from, poisons heal. And your arrows won't kill me."

I wrapped my toes around the shaft of the arrow, then shoved it into her stomach, forcing it through her back.

"I quit," I heard someone say in the dark.

Suddenly, the room went completely dark except the torch by my feet.

"Lets see how well you can fight in the dark," a voice echoed through the bottomless room.

"That's not fair!" I heard Leorio yell.

"She's on the path of darkness. She's not supposed to be able to see," Kurapika said, a tinge of worry in his voice.

Something sharp passed my cheek. It came from above me. I stood still for a moment before looking at the torch. He could see me as long as I stayed in the light. I carefully picked up the torch and carried it to the edge where I realized the bridge was gone. A harsh updraft wavered the torch almost blowing it out. .

I sighed as I looked at the darkness below. I could at least make a fire with the knives I had taken. I released the torch and watched it fall into darkness. Now, we were on even playing fields.

A laugh echoed around me, "How very clever, little one. But, now you can't see me at all, and there is no guarantee you will get another torch here."

"I don't need light to get through this place," I replied as I waited.

Something moved behind me, touching my hair in the process. The strange touches continued around me before I felt a nasty presence. It was the same thing I had felt when I was trying to get the ball from Netero. Before I knew what had happened, the lights were back on and there was a man dead at my feet, his throat ripped out and eyes missing.

I stared at my blood covered hand unsure of what had happened.

"Wow, you got him," Killua said with an impressed smile. "I guess that's 34 people you've killed now."

"And probably more to come," I replied with a sigh as I wiped my hand off on my shorts. "Wonder where his eyes went."

A bridge to my right began to go toward the wall as a door appeared. "A torch is waiting for you on the other side of this door."

I smiled at the group, "I'll see you at the bottom."

I walked across the bridge and waved as the door lowered. True enough, there was a torch waiting for me. Without knowing how long it would last, I started my way down some stairs that, at some point turned into going down. Soon I felt like I was walking in a small circle with the tight spiral stair that had suddenly appeared. I wasn't sure how long it had been since my last fight before I found myself in the same room as another applicant that hadn't noticed me.

The torch in my hand suddenly went out as did the rest of the lighting.

"W-What's going on?!" The applicant exclaimed.

"Another applicant has entered the room. You can try to kill the other or you can sneak by. There is a key hidden in the room that will open all the doors. It will only open one door then break and every door has a trap, except one. One of you will have to turn back for another path."

The candles lit up once again, the orange glow giving the room a terrible dangerous feel. Where was the key? I took careful and precise steps to avoid getting the other one's attention. When I got a better look at the man, I recognized him. He was the one with the scary monkey thing. Where was the monkey?

An awful screech in my ears gave me a terrible headache. I grabbed the cursed creature by its neck and slammed it to the ground, knocking it unconscious. I held the stupid beast in my hand, a knife to its neck as I stepped out from my hiding spot. "I will kill this thing here and now if you do not listen to me. Keep this stupid thing away from me. If you find the key, I will fight you. If I find the key, I will fight you. Should it come near me again, this world will be free of this wretched creature."

I threw the unconscious creature to his feet with a sneer. Monkeys were considered cursed and an abomination on Fox Cove. Dreadful things.

So the quest for the key began. I wouldn't think the test would be so hard as to needing to disassemble the room, but I kept that option in mind as I felt my way around the walls. I noticed a glittering light in a candle. The key was in a candle? I blew out the candle and pulled the key out of the wax. With a hard slam, my hand collided with that stupid monkey slamming it into the ground a good bit.

"Stupid beast," I grumbled as I headed toward the door I had chosen.

A knife flew by my head as I stuck the key in the door. With ease, I opened the door and stepped in to find a torch waiting for me. I grinned as I closed the door behind me and continued my journey down. Suddenly, I was facing puzzles, like jigsaw puzzles in the wall, and having to push things into their proper place before a door would open or stairway would appear.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I continued down some floating stairs in a place with floating doors. I was getting tired of these games. Finally, I stopped and another stairway appeared, taking me to the correct door. I stretched as i fell through another floor. The falling continued until I was in another room with more puzzles, only this one showed it's difficulty level by showing how much time I had left. 38 hours and 12 minutes. It was a combination of everything I had done.

Lining the door which was obviously an exit were seven torch holders. In the room there were seven torches. I took a deep breath and let it go as I picked up the first key for the game. I finally opened a door only to have a woman attack me. Her life was quickly ended, and I grabbed the torch from her cell, placing it in the first torch holder. I searched her body and put the two keys I found in my pocket before grabbing her necklace and moving back to her cell where a jigsaw puzzle waited. It was an easy solve, opening the way to another torch which I put into the next torch holder.

I groaned when I heard the jigsaw reset and the door close, locking itself. I found the first key and unlocked the door again before walking into the cell and solving the jigsaw once again and pulling out the loose brick, grabbing the key from there. I moved to the other side of the room and solved another jigsaw puzzle which opened the way to a long, dark hallway that had a door to unlock. Another man lost his life and I got the third torch.

Puzzle after puzzle, doors locking and unlocking, resetting things, and killing people. I had 25 hours left when I finally finished the puzzle.

I cried as the door opened.

"Costa, applicant 59. Total time 47 hours and 29 minutes." A voice announced.

No one said a word as they stared at me. Someone laughed, "You must have quite some skill to make it alone, girl."

I didn't give him a look as I walked to an empty spot against the wall and sat down, closing my eyes to get some rest. I pulled my knife ready to kill whoever had decided to get within three feet of me. Hisoka sat down next to me, not saying a word. A silent agreement between us allowed a smile to form on my lips as I closed my eyes. He wasn't going to let anyone come near me while I rested. I couldn't imagine how rough I looked. I didn't care.

A laugh brought me from my sleep. I looked up to see Gon and Killua laughing at Hito who had had a bad experience with fire and had scorched his eyebrows off as well as some of the front of his hair

"Costa," Kurapika breathed in relief. I rubbed my eyes and looked up to see Kurapika smiling down at me, relief in his grey eyes. "You're awake."

I nodded with a half-hearted smile. "Yeah. You wouldn't believe what I've been through."

Kurapika smiled as he listened to my story, even laughing at some parts where I remembered being most annoyed.

"We made it at the very end," he told me. "Thanks to Gon. We wouldn't have made it otherwise."

I smiled some then yawned. "I'm just glad it's over."

Soon, I found myself reaching inside a box and pulling out a small piece of plastic with a stick over some sort of important information. When everyone had finished drawing, we removed the sticker. 301.

I chuckled slightly at the number while I waited to hide my tag. My target was Hito, and I knew exactly how to get it. As we got on the boat, I left everyone to gather my thoughts. I had slept for almost 24 hours. Somehow, I was still tired.

"You okay?" I looked at Killua who had some curious concern in his big blue eyes.

"Tired," I replied with a weak smile. "What's up?"

"Just seeing who your target is," he replied.

"It's not you," I replied with a smile. "And you?"

"Not you," he replied with a smile. "Do you think it will be hard to live on this island for a week?"

"No," I replied with a smile. "Not if you know what you're doing."

"You know how to fish without a fishing rod?" Killua asked.

I nodded with a smile. "I'll wait for you to get off the boat and show you."

He smiled, "Great!"

When the boat finally reached the island, Hisoka was the first one off. I waved at the others while I walked off the boat and waited by the dock for Killua, my arms crossed over my chest. Three people after me, Hito left. Finally, Killua got off the boat and we headed into the forest to find a river.

When we found one, I grabbed a branch off a tree and started sharpening it with my knife. Once it was sharp enough, I got in the water and he got in, standing next to me. "It takes a while for the fish to forget you're there, but when they do come," I shoved the spear into the fish. "You have to stab it at an angle because it's not where it appears to be."

I handed him the spear and after many attempts, he got one.

"So, who is your target?" Killua asked.

"I'd rather not say," I muttered.

"Is it Gon?"

"No."

"Kurapika?"

"No."

"Hito?"

I didn't say anything as I got out of the water. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Wait, are you going to kill him?" Killua asked.

"Probably." I replied as I looked at him. "If you have any last words to tell him, find him and tell him now. I will get the tag."

"No, he's looking for you, too," Killua said. "His number is 59."


End file.
